P.K. Subban and the Montreal Canadiens finally resolved their contract squabble on Monday, with the 23-year-old defenseman coming to terms on a two-year deal worth $5.75 million.

Generally, this was seen as a victory for rookie general manager Marc Bergevin, because Subban had been seeking a longer-term deal, but that may not turn out to be the case.

P.K. Subban agreed to a two-year deal on Monday to rejoin the Montreal Canadiens. (AP Photo)

The idea of only giving Subban a short-term deal now is to have a young star on board for below market rate for the next two seasons, and to ensure that he is only eligible at the end of the deal for restricted free agency, a system that has seen seven players sign offer sheets with other clubs this century. That much, the Canadiens have achieved.

Subban has the same salary cap hit this season as Tom Poti and Ian White. This is not just about the current deal, though, as Subban has made it clear that he wants to be with the Canadiens for the long haul.

“Our goal was to get a deal that was not only best for P.K. Subban, but best for the Montreal Canadiens,”Subban said. “Obviously, I knew through this process that everyone was going to have their opinion, and thats fine. I’m so excited to get back on the ice with our team and win hockey games and be a part of this. Playing in Montreal is the pinnacle of this. It’s the best place to play.”

If Subban is honest about his desire to stay in Montreal, and seeking a long-term deal there is as solid an indication as any that he is, the Canadiens may have been better off giving him the five-year deal that he reportedly sought. Barring injury or an unforeseeable disintegration of his talent, Subban still is going to get a long-term deal and big payday, but he’s just going to have to wait.

The wait may prove to be worth it for Subban, whose baseline for a qualifying offer or salary arbitration will be the $3.75 million salary he draws next season. When Shea Weber went to arbitration with the Predators in 2011, coming out of a contract that paid him $4.5 million, he got a raise to $7.5 million on a one-year deal, then signed his 14-year, $110 million contract last summer. Subban is not Weber, but agent Don Meehan would be well within reason to give Bergevin a list like this:

Dustin Byfuglien (Jets), 8.09% (Made $4.25 million in the first year of a five-year, $26 million deal)

Keith Yandle (Coyotes), 8.16% (Made $4.75 million in the first year of a five-year, $26.25 million deal)

Mike Green (Capitals), 8.67% (Made $6 million in the first year of a three-year, $18.25 million deal)

Brent Seabrook (Blackhawks), 9.02% (Made $7 million in the first year of a five-year, $29 million deal)

Those are four defensemen who, like Subban, got short-term deals as restricted free agents after the expiration of their entry-level contracts. The percentages, from the indispensable capgeek.com, represent what percentage of the salary cap each player’s charge represented in the first year of their current contracts. Subban would not be out of line to expect something in the 8.5% range for his next contract.

Subban was seeking a deal that would have represented 7.8% of this year’s cap, and settled for 4.1%. The question of whether the short-term savings will be worthwhile depends on our old friend, hockey-related revenue.

Given the record TV ratings and sold-out arenas across North America, it seems that the lockout did not hurt as much as anyone expected. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Kings announced partnerships with nine new sponsors, ranging from the sub-makers at Jersey Mike’s sandwich shop to the sub-makers at military manufacturer Northrop Grumman.

If business stays good, the salary cap goes up, and so does the amount of money that Subban can reasonably expect to earn. Things get even better for him if he takes a one-year deal from arbitration in 2014, then gets to reap the benefits of a new Canadian national television contract pouring into the HRR pool for his subsequent contract. At that point, the $5.5 million that Subban was asking for this winter might seem like a downright bargain.